Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has revealed that Premier League rivals are refusing to do Newcastle any favours since the Saudi-led takeover and accused them of inflating transfer fees for his club, admitting ‘everyone is against us’.
The Magpies failed in their efforts to sign either Leeds winger Jack Harrison, Watford winger Jao Pedro and Leicester midfielder James Maddison among others.
And Howe gave a candid answer when asked if domestic clubs, seeing Newcastle as a threat, had proven difficult to deal with during the summer window.
Magpies saw two bids in the region of £40m rejected for Maddison, with the one-cap England international having two years left on his contract. Rodgers would go on to joke that Newcastle’s offers would only cover ‘three-quarters’ of the playmaker’s ‘left leg’.
Also, Newcastle saw their offer of £20m plus £3m in add-ons turned down by Watford for Brazilian youngster Joao Pedro.
Pedro, 20, is not only keen on playing Premier League football but also said to be wanting to hook up with compatriots Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes. And, according to the Chronicle, he is surprised that Watford are standing in his way given they accepted a similar fee from Forest for Emmanuel Dennis.
Newcastle would then go on to sign striker Alexander Isak for a club-record £63m fee from Real Sociedad.
That’s true, I would say so,’ he said. ‘That was definitely something we felt in the market. Domestic clubs didn’t want to be seen to be helping us. We’ll have to take that, that is part of where we are at the moment.
‘We have certainly found there is no one there ready to do us a favour. It’s the narrative regarding us that has changed. If there is anything domestically, teams will put their price up if it is Newcastle. That is the same around the world, that is something we are having to deal with.
‘That is why we have walked away from a few deals because I think it is important we are not seen as that club that will pay what is asked. I think it has to be fair.
‘There is a real feeling of us internally knowing we are against everybody else. That is healthy and I would embrace that. I would say we couldn’t be more together at the moment.’
